A MAN has been slapped with a fine after he was caught selling thousands of illegal cigarettes and fake football shirts on Facebook.  

Samuel Rowe appeared in the dock of Oxford Magistrates Court on Friday after police discovered 12,000 grams of hand-rolling tobacco, 3,500 fake cigarettes, counterfeit Premier League football shirts and MAC make-up.

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The court heard how 27-year-old Rowe, from Benson, began to advertise the tobacco on Facebook under the pseudonym Chris Jenkins.

Undercover officers from Oxfordshire County Council’s Trading Standards arranged to meet him in a car park of a pub on May 15 and June 3 where they bought tobacco from well-known brands like Golden Virginia, Amber Leaf, Cutters Choice and Lambert & Butler.

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Police then searched his house on July 3 and seized the haul of fake goods.

Rowe was arrested and interviewed by Trading Standards officers at Abingdon Police Station and his car was taken by HMRC.

At court he admitted to 16 offences including knowingly carrying on a fraudulent business under the Fraud Act 2006 between March and July 2019.

He was sentenced to pay fines and costs totalling £2,440.

The council have now warned anybody thinking of committing the crime to ‘expect to get caught’.

Jody Kerman, Oxfordshire County Council’s Head of Trading Standards, (pictured below)  added: “We all know the risks associated with smoking and the best decision any smoker can make for their health and wealth is to stop. Peddling cheap, counterfeit tobacco is not only a serious crime, fake cigarettes also fail to extinguish themselves when left to burn, presenting a real danger to safety in the home.”

Oxford Mail:

Councillor Judith Heathcoat, who is the board member for community safety, said: “Oxfordshire’s trading standards team, working in partnership with Thames Valley Police and other agencies will continue to crack down on the sale of these illegal products.

“We also need residents to play a part. Be vigilant and report any suspicious activity using the illegal tobacco hotline.

”Recently published figures show that tobacco fraud costs the UK nearly £2 billion a year with one in three pouches of hand-rolling tobacco consumed coming from an illicit source. Treating smoking-related illnesses costs the NHS over £2 billion each year.”

The county council have warned that anybody caught will:  

  • Be arrested
  • Have their home searched
  • Have their car searched and maybe taken away if it has been used in the crime
  • Be interviewed under caution
  • Have their mobile phones, computers, laptops and iPads seized and not returned if they have been used in a crime
  • Have any money made from the crime seized even if it has been used to buy something, like property
  • Be taken to court and could a big fine, unpaid work or prison

With information about the illegal sale of cigarettes call 0300 999 6 999 or report it anonymously at stop-illegal-tobacco.co.uk.